Suggestions for in port Bermuda Day's

[borntoshop29]

Hello!

 

My husband and I will be sailing May 19th Boston-Bermuda for our 25th Anniversary, We arrive in port on Sunday and were thinking of going to the Crystal Caves and then just see where the day takes us. Our thought for Monday is to go to Horseshoe Bay Beach bright and early and then again see where the day takes us, then on Tuesday hang close to the ship and maybe go to Snorkel Park Beach.

 

Any suggestion are welcome and help with transportation is greatly appreciated as this is our first time in Bermuda. Will most things be open on a Sunday? Will the transportation schedule be different?

 

Can't wait to sail away with the love of my life!

 

Thank you in advance!

[ColeThornton]

You'll want to check out the Bermuda ports of call forum. It has tons of helpful information about transportation, excursions, dining, beaches, etc.

 

Link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=196

[esm54687]

also be aware you will be arriving when The America's Cup is going on so expect crowds to be higher than normal for buses, ferries, taxis, etc

 

Great info: http://www.bermuda-attractions.com

[biker@sea]

The caves are on the opposite end of the island. May be better to do Horseshoe Shoe on Sunday , Caves / St. George area, Monday.

 

No ferry service Sundays and Taxi fares are higher on Sundays. ;)

 

.

[mrbill2000]

I agree with biker@sea. You might also have less company on Sunday at the beach also, I know we did.

 

You are lucky or unlucky depending on how you look at it because Wednesday May 24 is Bermuda Day. Lucky because a lot of things are closed because of the public holiday. Unlucky if you wanted to go to the parade and festivities in Hamilton. Three years ago we hit the holiday on Monday on our Dawn cruise and now that we know about it we know not to schedule a cruise that is in port on the 24th unless of course we want to see the parade and festivities.

 

Enjoy your cruise, Bermuda is a beautiful island and we can't wait to return in 2018.

[BostonGal35]

the bus and ferry system is easy to do. you can buy passes right at the pier when you disembark.

 

we usually start at St. George on day 1, and work our way back, sticking to the dockyard areas on teh last day.

 

i recommend crystal caves (with lunch at swizzle inn across the street), climbing gibbs hill lighthouse (amazing views), time in st. george, checking out a few of the forts, snorkeling at Church Bay, horseshoe bay or warwick long bay beaches, and walking a portion of hte bermuda rail trail. i got a Fodor's Bermuda to help me plan.

[Gershep]

Fun Golf Miniature Golf right there in Dockyard. Go before sunset to watch the sun go down. Lots of fun and beautiful views. Have a great cruise!

[bluesea777]

also be aware you will be arriving when The America's Cup is going on so expect crowds to be higher than normal for buses, ferries, taxis, etc

 

Great info: www.bermuda-attractions.com

 

First day of America's Cup ga-ga is May 26th. This cruise would be back in Boston then.

[davy jones]

Hello!

 

My husband and I will be sailing May 19th Boston-Bermuda for our 25th Anniversary, We arrive in port on Sunday and were thinking of going to the Crystal Caves and then just see where the day takes us. Our thought for Monday is to go to Horseshoe Bay Beach bright and early and then again see where the day takes us, then on Tuesday hang close to the ship and maybe go to Snorkel Park Beach.

 

!

Your plan sounds pretty reasonable

 

Purchase a 2 or 3 day transit pass when you first disembark the ship in Bermuda.

 

For your Crystal Cave day, I would do the following.

1. Get the first ferry to St. George. It is much faster than going there by bus. Explore St. George for a while.

2. Take #3 bus from St. George to Crystal Cave and do the caves.

3. Get #3 bus to Hamilton. If you wish, you can get off at the Swizzle Inn along the way.

4. Explore Hamilton.

5. Ferry from Hamilton back to Dockyard. It is also much faster than the bus.

 

The next day, use the transit pass to take the #7 bus to Horseshoe Bay. You can also visit the Gibbs Hill lighthouse on the same trip.

 

Since the ship leaves earlier on the last day, it is best to explore the Dockyard on that day. You can do the Snorkel Park beach if you wish, but it will be a letdown after Horseshoe Bay

[borntoshop29]

Your plan sounds pretty reasonable

 

Purchase a 2 or 3 day transit pass when you first disembark the ship in Bermuda.

 

For your Crystal Cave day, I would do the following.

1. Get the first ferry to St. George. It is much faster than going there by bus. Explore St. George for a while.

2. Take #3 bus from St. George to Crystal Cave and do the caves.

3. Get #3 bus to Hamilton. If you wish, you can get off at the Swizzle Inn along the way.

4. Explore Hamilton.

5. Ferry from Hamilton back to Dockyard. It is also much faster than the bus.

 

The next day, use the transit pass to take the #7 bus to Horseshoe Bay. You can also visit the Gibbs Hill lighthouse on the same trip.

 

Since the ship leaves earlier on the last day, it is best to explore the Dockyard on that day. You can do the Snorkel Park beach if you wish, but it will be a letdown after Horseshoe Bay

 

Thank you!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

Fun Golf Miniature Golf right there in Dockyard. Go before sunset to watch the sun go down. Lots of fun and beautiful views. Have a great cruise!

 

I'd second the mini golf !

 

We took a private island tour as well one day - very nice.

 

Tom

[BostonGal35]

you can walk from the crystal caves to teh swizzle inn. no need to get on the bus.

[mrbill2000]

The ferry to St George's doesn't run on Sunday not to mention that unless things have changed the Dawn doesn't arrive at the Dockyard until noonish on Sunday so the first day is really a half day. The bus schedules are also different on Sunday so be sure to check them out as you make your plans if you plan to use them.

[df5250]

I second the recommendation to walk to Swizzle Inn from Crystal/Fantasy caves. Walk out the driveway of the caves and take a right and the original Swizzle Inn is around the corner. There are two, the other one is on South Road. I prefer the original! The Bus stops are right in front of Swizzle Inn, so you can cross the street and hop on a #3, #10 or #11 and head into Hamilton (pink Pole) or #10 or #11 (blue pole) back to St George's depending on your plan!

 

 

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[esm54687]

First day of America's Cup ga-ga is May 26th. This cruise would be back in Boston then.

Do you think the vessels, support teams, fans, media, sponsors, etc arrive on the first day of competition? This is the Super Bowl of sailing and there are tons of things going on weeks before up to "kick off".

 

Just providing a piece of information for OP's planning .... I'm on the Dawn arriving May 7th and renting a Boston Whaler in Hamilton.... they gave me a heads up that the harbor / transportation will be busier than usual so plan accordingly because my rental starts as scheduled not when I get there.

[borntoshop29]

Great information! I was hoping they might change the schedule on Sunday and add more transportation due to the Americas Cup. Thank you all!

 

 

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[njhorseman]

Great information! I was hoping they might change the schedule on Sunday and add more transportation due to the Americas Cup. Thank you all!

 

 

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They might change the schedule for America's Cup, but if they do it likely won't be announced until shortly before the races begin. They rarely announce revised transportation schedules this far in advance.

[BostonGal35]

we are going to be on teh BA the week fo May 28th when the first big qualifier event is happening.

 

the island is prepared, and i reached out to the Bermuda Tourism office. they assured me that all bus and ferry service was running as normal, and that there would actually be extra service given the expected crowds. the only thing changing for us is that the Wednesday night festival is moved to Thursday night.

[Ned11]

I did an excursion with Bernard's Tours. It was a 5 hour trip round the island stopping in several places. It was brilliant.

 

 

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[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I did an excursion with Bernard's Tours. It was a 5 hour trip round the island stopping in several places. It was brilliant.

 

 

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Same tour we took - highly recommend it!

 

Bernard is an interesting fellow. :D

 

Tom

[njhorseman]

we are going to be on teh BA the week fo May 28th when the first big qualifier event is happening.

 

the island is prepared, and i reached out to the Bermuda Tourism office. they assured me that all bus and ferry service was running as normal, and that there would actually be extra service given the expected crowds. the only thing changing for us is that the Wednesday night festival is moved to Thursday night.

 

You didn't expect the Bermuda Tourism Department to tell you their public transit system may be overwhelmed, did you?

 

The likelihood of Bermuda providing a significant amount of additional bus and ferry service is slim at best. They can't even provide the current scheduled bus service because the bus fleet is old and buses are frequently out of service for an extended period of time due to mechanical issues, a lack of replacement parts and insufficient numbers of qualified mechanics to repair the fleet. Virtually every day there are a significant number of bus trip cancellations.

 

The state of repair of the ferries isn't much better. For the past several years Bermuda has had to charter a ferry from Rhode Island just to be able to provide the very limited summer ferry service between Dockyard and St. George. This year the load on that ferry service will be reduced on days NCLH ships are in port as NCLH has chartered a ferry just for its own passengers. While Bermuda may be able to provide some additional runs between Dockyard and Hamilton similar to what they've done on Harbour Nights in the past they still do not have a lot of excess ferry capacity.

[Budski54]

Hello!

 

My husband and I will be sailing May 19th Boston-Bermuda for our 25th Anniversary, We arrive in port on Sunday and were thinking of going to the Crystal Caves and then just see where the day takes us. Our thought for Monday is to go to Horseshoe Bay Beach bright and early and then again see where the day takes us, then on Tuesday hang close to the ship and maybe go to Snorkel Park Beach.

 

Any suggestion are welcome and help with transportation is greatly appreciated as this is our first time in Bermuda. Will most things be open on a Sunday? Will the transportation schedule be different?

 

Can't wait to sail away with the love of my life!

 

Thank you in advance!

 

On our first trip to Bermuda about 25 years ago, we rented a scooter for 3 days. It got us everywhere we wanted to go, and at whatever time of day or night. I did all of the driving, while my wife rode on the back of the scooter. It took some getting used to driving on the left side of the road, but we were careful and didn't have any accidents.

On our 2ND trip to Bermuda about 5 years ago, we reserved a scooter for 3 days, but when we got off the ship, we decided that driving in Bermuda on a scooter was not for us. Too much traffic and it seemed dangerous, so we cancelled the scooter. Since we were docked in Hamilton for 3 days, we used the busses and ferries to get around. Overall, it was easy to get around, and the bus drivers were very helpful. The only problem was that when we were outside of Hamilton, we sometimes had to wait, as some busses zipped right past us because they were too full.

In any event, having a scooter, or using the busses and ferries allows you to really explore Bermuda. Don't forget to take your camera. There's so many perfect pictures.

[Setsail15]

Hi all,

 

Would like to walk a few miles of the rail trail. Anyone have ant suggestions for the most scenic section? How is the best way to get there and back?